Gay pulp paperbacks of the early 1970s
These paperbacks from the days of Stonewall are simply incredible. They elicit phrases that increasingly seem dead to us now — “the closet,” “homosexual panic” — and for that reason they make me sad. They straddle the categories of alarmism and regular ol’ enjoyment — expressing the inherently coded nature of gay life during that era. In that sense their true meaning is confusion and pain. I hope they gave their readers pleasure. One can hope, at least, that this particular facet of sexual life is dying off.
They’re all from an imprint called French Line. I admire these books because they are so deadly intent about reaching their audience. The design of these covers is so potent — they are not kidding around. And hey — what’s Guy Fawkes doing writing Chamber of Homos, anyway? What’s up with that Nazi one? How long does it take to make a straight guy gay? How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop?
All of the covers but one use that circle-arrow male symbol — are those symbols themselves a relic of the sixties? you don’t see them very much anymore — and everything about these covers, every word and every image, is calculated to intrigue, alarm, and arouse.
via Tombolare